This invention relates to exhaust fume treatment apparatus and, more particularly, relates to apparatus for removing materials from an entraining exhaust gas utilizing a rotating wheel and housing to effect such separation.
Although use in other environments is contemplated, the present invention arose in connection with the development of exhaust hood systems and integrated exhaust hood-air curtain systems usable in a variety of situations in which fumes produced by a device are to be exhausted from an enclosure in which the device is located and in such a way as to protect personnel or the like adjacent such device from deleterious or unpleasant effects which might be caused by such fumes. Cook tops or the like in food preparation establishments including restaurants, hamburger stands, etc. provide one example of situations to which the present invention is directed.
In such establishments, the air above such cooking apparatus (for example, griddles, grills, open deep fat frying vats, kettles, pressure cookers, etc.) may frequently carry objectionable quantities of fatty or greasy materials in suspension or entrainment. Thus, the present invention, in materially reducing or substantially eliminating the level of foreign materials, such a grease particles or the like, from air exhausted therethrough, is intended to improve environmental quality. While the embodiments disclosed in my related application Serial No. 338,871 now Pat. No. 3,865,022, above mentioned, achieve this end in a generally satisfactory manner, the embodiments herein disclosed in detail further improves my basic invention by enhancing contaminant removal performance and providing additional operational advantages.
Therefore, the objects of this invention include provision of:
1. An exhaust fume treatment apparatus which removes solid or liquid particles from an exhaust gas preparatory to releasing same to the atmosphere.
2. Apparatus, as aforesaid, particularly adapted from use in combination with exhaust hood constructions, with or without air curtain devices.
3. Apparatus, as aforesaid, with is capable of effective operation over long periods of time without attention, which tends to be self-cleaning in use, which provides for convenient elimination of contaminant materials extracted from exhaust air flowing therethrough and which provides for positive entrapment of material particles removed from the exhaust gas to prevent re-entry of such particles into the exhaust gas flow.
4. Apparatus, as aforesaid, in which incoming contaminated gas is deflected for more uniform distribution along the blades of the slinger wheel, particularly to increase contact with the upstream blade ends, and to impart a preliminary rotation to such incoming gas.
5. Apparatus, as aforesaid, in which the slinger wheel blade configuration tends to migrate contaminant materials accumulated thereon toward the upstream, or entry, end of the slinger wheel, preparatory to throwing accumulated masses tangentially.
6. Apparatus, as aforesaid, in which thrown contaminant masses are deflected toward the entry end of the apparatus by a screen having correspondingly angled openings therethrough.
7. Apparatus, as aforesaid, in which gases leaving the slinger wheel are subjected to reversals in radial direction after leaving the slinger wheel housing, including radial reversals by a further deflector arrangement in the tunnel coupling the outlet of the slinger wheel housing with a suction blower.
8. Apparatus, as aforesaid, in which slinger wheel tip speed may be set at optimum regardless of blower speed, slinger wheel rotational speed can be held at a desired level substantially below the rotational rate of the suction impeller, and wherein cooperatively arranged but separately driveable telescoped shafts support the slinger wheel and suction impeller.
9. Apparatus, as aforesaid, in which provision is made for cleaning of portions of the apparatus, when desired, without need for apparatus disassembly.
Other objects and purposes of this invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with apparatus of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.